One of the big surprises we have had this year is the release of the Makita 7 1/4” Max efficiency carbide tipped framing blade.At first glance it looks almost identical to the earlier 24 tooth ultra coated framing blade but when looking closer you begin to notice the differences.

First thing you will notice is it is lighter due to the thinner design at 0.057” thick making it one of the thinnest blades ever.The differences don’t stop there. The actual carbide teeth are tapered for less friction in the cut.The shoulder of the tooth is narrower than the cutting edge thereby reducing contact with the material being cut.

We have used them both in the shop and on the job and been nothing but impressed time after time.We had initial fears that this blade may not be durable since it’s so thin so we ran some extreme tests.

To determine just how efficient this blade is over existing blades we set up a continuous rip test with the XSR01Z which is the X2 36v rear handle saw. We got some culled lumber from Home Depot that no one would want to use for building because it was warped and cracked. It ended up being 2×12 Douglas fir. With the new max efficiency blade we were able to get over 300 feet of lineal 2x rips on one charge of 2-5.0 batteries.

This was over twice as many lineal feet of ripping as compared to the most popular framing blade on the market. The Diablo tracking point amped blade which is known for being efficient and durable even with nails and screw embedded wood. The results were so shocking to me I couldn’t believe my eyes. I re-ran the test to make sure the results were accurate.

Many have been concerned about blade wander in long heavy cuts because of the extra thin kerf. I have found no such wandering even though I made cut after cut with no rest between other than the time it took to walk from one end to the other. The blade was warm but never warped.

For a second test I cut 10 framing nails to see how it would affect the blade and then re-ran the test. The results were just as astounding at the first test. I was able to rip 265′ in the same Douglas fir on one battery charge.

For a third and final test I wanted to see how many framing nails it could cut embedded in framing lumber before becoming too dull to cut. I feel this is important since I have experienced many blades becoming harder to cut with after hitting as little as one nail. We were astonished to see the blade pass through 190 framing nails! I think it would have cut many more if I had let the blade cool. It went through about 180 before the blade started to warp and wobble. I kept pushing hard anyway and all the teeth sheared off at once.

With an asking price of about $10 at Acme Tools I will definitely be using this blade for years to come. Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

Top bevel angle designed with a sharp 23° tip which provides a smoother cut

Slimmer tip bottoms provide lower cutting resistance.

Tell us what you think below in your comments. Please subscribe to our page. Be sure to let us know what trade you are in and where you are located. Leave your instagram name, facebook name or email for future giveaways.

Absolutely love makita tools and that’s all my shop uses for cordless power tools. I would love to try these new blades in the field myself after seeing your tests ran on them. I enjoy testing out the newest framing blades to see how much better quality they are from what’s already out. I would love to win either of these!

Cody Armfelt

Absolutely love Makita tools and that’s all the guys use in our shop for cordless power tools. I would love to try this saw out in the field especially after seeing/reading about the tests you ran. That new blade seems to be quite the workhorse so I wouldn’t mind having some on hand either. I enjoy trying out new framing blades to see how much better the quality is compared to what’s already out there.

matt grahn

Andy Moraga

I’ve had makita tools almost exclusively since my first 9.6 with a key type chuck. The 18v lithium platform is another huge step forward, I need a full power saw for solid lumber! Thin kerf blades are amazing

Chenda Nuon

Garry Padilla

Very very impressive, wish we had more tools and tool accessories here in Hilo, Hawaii. I’m always looking for better blades and only blade that is great here is Diablo. I love tools and always try to get tools to make my life easier and more efficient for work, but living on the island gives limited supplies.

Ross Williams

Tony Landin

Makita at it again. I knew I should have gone back to them. I owned the old gun clip style cordless drill. I upgraded to Porter cable nicad then went lithium to dewalt 20v. These new blades are looking to out do anything on the market.

DeVriesRenovations

Kevin isom

These blades are hurt some sales for other manufactures I’ve been running the dewalt blades on my 7 1/4 20v seems the factory are the only ones I can get the best battery life out of,for sure going to have to give these a try over the next bit working in topsail building back after Florence

Dan Monaghan

Love the Makita brand , can’t wait to try the max efficientcy blades , the durability would be great especially on the job when the apprentice uses the finish blades for demo without knowing the difference

Mike

Don’t have an Acme near me but I’m hoping to find some online or be one of the 3 winners! Was really impressed with the performance against the Diablo in the worm drive since that’s what I’ve been running for years! It’s going to be like my 5ah’s are 7ah’s now!

Dan Curtin

Stewcob

GREAT GREAT blades… EXCELLENT review…. my thoughts on this as well as ALL Makita blades is that they do NOTHING but push the envelope and raise the standard!!! PHENOMENAL!! Thanks for an excellent review @toolpig

Ronnie Taylor

Alex

I can’t tell you much about these products other that i’d love to try them out! I just started a small renovation company and so far things are going great! But I’m missing a cordless circular saw still!

Gregory

James W

Nice post! Makita’s getting better again! Seems like a constant rolling race to see who is doing the best between all these main brands. Makita will succeed for a while and then another one will come out with something better. Get em while they’re hot!!

Cody H

Brenden B

Dan Monaghan

Nothing better then getting your moneys worth out of a good versatile blade, would love to try them out . Recently purchased the rear handle makita it’s a beast , guessing the new circular saw is just as good

@railandstilewoodworks

Win or lose on October 20th in Sacramento I will definitely be getting my paws on this saw and blade. With that said, when a blade can outlast the competition to these extremities, you really have to look no further. Makita has and always will be my go to for cordless technology and innovation. I bought my first impact in 93 . A 9.6 v stud that carried me into the early 2000’s before it was stolen. Thank you toolpig for the repeated proof that Makita is and always will be a top competitor in the battery market.

Joe montague

WoW. I love these videos, because every company claims to have the best product on the market but you actually test each one. These blades look awesome and I definitely plan on buying these in the future.

Brodie

Justin wein

As a concrete form setup man, I’m constantly looking for the best blade for the job site. These Makita blades look like they might be my next choice over the diablo, avanti or Irwin blades either I purchase myself or my company supplies.

Blythe

Travis Danek

I have been a Makita fan since day one. Their blades have always impressed me but they are hard to find out here in Western Canada. I love my 6.5” BL Circ Saw. Would love to try out the new compact 36V!

Jim

Corinna Schreiner

I have always loved the diablo blades but I was wondering about other blades abilities. I saw your review and I appreciate all the time you take to test these things out. So I am looking forward to buying these when they hit the market, if I don’t win them before hand! Love that they will allow my saw to run more efficiently and save my my batteries in the long run! Thanks

Michael Mills

Gavin

I’m super excited to try these new blades. I have a bad habit of just running old dull blades and cussing the entire time. But with these being only 10 bucks, that’s a great deal for high quality. I’m excited for the saw as well, slowly im working on building up my cordless collection. This looks like a great saw.

Bo Reed

Mat butns

Ken Warywoda

Personally never got to use these blades (our Home Depot sucks) and never got to even see this saw besides in your post. But judging on what you guys have to show and say in their behalf then they look like something I definitely want and would use.

Tyler

Dale Gallion

Makita chop saws are where I first got over the hump on tryin a Japanese power tool company about 20 years ago, and they’ve continued to surprise me over the years. even when I expected a new tool to be a good one, they do something like this and it’s a big wow moment.

I’m going to preorder some of these and put em to the test myself. Very impressive!

Scott Mutlow

Joe Arsenault

This saw looks awesome. I recently purchased the makita XPS01PTJ track saw , the thing a beauty. Its my first makita purchase, ive always been a black and yellow guy, ive been recently going red. The track saw was my first blue purchase and i am incredibly happy with it. Im looking forward to expanding my makita lineup and this saw with the high efficency blade would be a very welcomed addition.

James Mason

I never really thought of the significance of a good blade before, I just a assumed the saw had a bigger impact but seeing you test this blade and another on the same saw with wildly varied results has changed my mind and I look forward to trying this blade out

Francisco Rodriguez

Luke Keller

Wow! I’ve been a DeWalt guy for years… mostly because that’s the tools I started with and didn’t want to change battery platforms.
I have been keeping a close eye on Makita products for a couple of years now and been considering a switch. If I won the saw and blade prize I would be very excited to add to my Arsenal and increase my value on the jobsite.
Very impressive demonstration .
Keep up the good work, I come to your site and Instagram regularly to get your 2 cents before I make any tool decisions.

Nickolas Robertson

Ben Head

Never used a rear handle saw before wouldn’t mind having one and it being on my preferred cordless brand is even better. I would like to try these we blades with my corded circular saw to see if they make a difference there as well. Really hope Makita begins to make a larger push in having its power tool accessories more available in places like Home Depot and such. Thanks Toolpig for the write up

Alex

Matthew Ryan

Love Makita tools for making fast clean cuts there’s nothing that tops them. Always have a Makita compound miter saw for finish work and ol’ faithful wormdrive skill for framing. Can’t wait to see what this new blade and a new saw could do!!!

Ferrentino_Carpentry

I’ve been really impressed by all the tools coming out in the cordless lineup from makita in the past few years. As a floor mechanic I would really like to see how this saw and blade combo stack up when removing old floors. I’ve been happily surprised with the cordless trim router and just recently the smaller blower, so I would love to put this saw to the test.

Aubrey Seymour

I was in the market for a new cordless saw and was about to pull the trigger on a dewalt until I watched your video. Pretty sure I’m sold on the makita. Used a corded makita on all my job sites for years, they are the lightest and have lasted the longest by far.

Can’t wait to use the Makita blades. I’ve only been buying the diablo blades for years, but your IG posts and thorough review of the product has me convinced. My local stores are’t carrying them yet, but I hope they do soon. Thanks for the review. I recommend your IG and write ups to everyone.

Jeremy

all my cordless tools are makita!
i use them everyday to build new houses or restore old ones. i can’t wait to slap on a fresh blue blade! and if i win the saw its going to have a great life! and if i win those awesome blades they will see plenty of action!

Jeremy

i’ve been happy with all my new makita tools and still using some old ones. i use my tools every day to build houses and restore old ones plus i do some hobby furniture projects. if you can cut nails and not trash a blade immediately i’m sold. i reuse old growth framing lumber and it has busted off lathing nails embedded. i would be so grateful to win the saw and blades or the blades!
thank you!

Spencer Toovey

Absolutely amazing what cordless tools are doing now. Have been using the original 36v x2 saw for a few years. And have been more then pleased with it. I would love to try out this new saw and blade combo.

Shane

Stephen Bowie

Seriously one of the best blades I’ve ever used. Ive been a carpenter for 23 years and consistently building decks for 15 years. I bought the worm drive saw at the start of the summer and just finally changed the blades after 3 plus months. Very impressed with the saw and the blades.

Norman Jeckel

Thomas

I just love this brand new Makita saw and new blades. The speed you can rip lumber is amazing. The blade cuts smooth as silk. I like the fact that if you hit a nail or screw a couple of times, you don’t have to scrap the blade. Great review of the saw and blades a well a Cool video showing how these products by Makita perform.

Thanks for making the video and review for the Makita saw and new Makita saw blade. I couldn’t believe how fast this saw cuts and the blade I will definitely use on my Ryobi saw that I have now I like the fact that if you happen to hit a nail or screw by accident, you don’t have to scrap it right away. Now I know I want to upgrade to Makita products. I hope Acme tools runs a great deal on this saw soon.

John Card

Sam Martin

This blade looks unreal with the combo of 36v technology. Would have to put this threw its paces here in Aus, using it for everything from pine to hardwood.
Can’t believe how many rips it did come pares to the dabilio

Byron Schmidt

This might be my most anticipated blade release. I am a big fan of the current Makita efficiency blades that ship on the rear handle. To improvement on that and still keep the 7-1/4” actual blade size at that price point is a winner on all fronts. This will be my blade of choice.

Eric

Cale

Luke Massey

Being a Makita fan I’m totally impressed with the thought that they have put into this blade. I am also a fan of the 36v line up. To be able to rip 300′ with a battery powered saw, or plunge through 190 nails!! My corded saw will be collecting dust on the shelf as soon as I can get my hands on this combo.

Matthew Mills

I would have never thought Makita would bring out a better blade than Diablo but all your videos and this review prove this is way better for cutting wood. I will buy some if they come out in a 6.5″ version as that is the only saw I have. Better yet, I could win this one and be set! Keep up the good work.

Tyler

That thin kerf is great! I always thought it made sense to reduce blade thickness for better battery life and to minimize wood wastage.
Tool looks good and could actually be a cordless alternative with the brushless motor.

Lawson

Thanks for bringing this awesome blade to our attention! Can’t wait to get some and put them on my X2 rear handle! Or possibly the new top handle x2. Never know… ? as always thank you for the great tool reviews and going through the extra work just for all of our benefit. I really appreciate your real world tests.

Shane van dorsser

Noah veach

Loving makita. We are all makita now any way and we want to get rid of our worm drive for this! We were both blade right guys got the blade left and just can’t get used to it!! And we just got a 10 pack of blades we’re ready to ruin so we’ll need a couple more!

David Molina

These blades sound promising! I am currently using Dewalt blades and they’re okay. Diablo is good, waiting for the milwaukee but from the sounds of it the makita blade seems really innovative. Thanks for posting this review and helping me in decide on circular saw blades.

Aaron Miiller

Man I think it’s so awesome they made this because I’m a sidewinder person. I just can’t get used to the rear handle. Can’t wait to try the blades! Although I haven’t found them in any stores around me yet. Great review as always toolpig!

Peter M

Sean A

Sean Anderson

I’m excited to try these out. When I started 6 years ago, everyone used irwin marathons, then diablos, which are an awesome blade. The tool companies are giving the people what they want, efficient and long lasting blades for a reasonable price. I like makita but don’t own any of their tools. The blades are cheaper than the batteries though.

Anonymous

John Albright

Really great review and videos to back it up! I was a little skeptical about the width of the blade and how it would do against cutting through since I do roofing and wasn’t sure how it’d hold up if cutting through old deck nails or staples. But after seeing it go through the 190 framing nails those worries were washed away. Will definitely be using them. As far as the saw goes Makitas X2 has always been the top cordless saw. I personally have a Milwaukee cordless 7 1/4in Saw that’s about 3 years old and with the 9.0 it does the trick, but being in Florida it overheats quickly. My corded saws however have always been Makita and I’ve loved them, Hopefully I can get the chance to use the Makita X2 and see if it holds up better in the Florida sun than the Milwaukee.

Dave Brownson

Michael Roeder

John Albright

Really great review and videos to back it up! I was a little skeptical about the width of the blade and how it would do against cutting through since I do roofing and wasn’t sure how it’d hold up if cutting through old deck nails or staples when replacing wood while tearing off. After seeing it cut through 190 framing nails those concerns were put to rest. I’m hoping it’ll help my cordless Milwaukee run cooler since I’m in Florida and it can overheat fairly quick. Can’t wait to try the blades out!